Hey! I'm An Arizona Author!

 

So says The Phoenix Public Library

A while ago I was meandering around the Phoenix Public Library website when I saw they were taking applications for their Arizona Authors program. Participation in events throughout the year was mentioned, with the biggie being a book fair on November 8th at the big, beautiful Burton Barr Main Library in downtown Phoenix.

    Well, I'm not only an Almost Native Arizonan, what with living here since 1960 and all, but most of the action in my books takes place right here in the Valley of the Sun. Besides, the library had very nicely purchased paperback copies of "Boomerang", "The Baer Boys" and "devil Went Down to Phoenix" some time ago, so it was easy for me to tell myself that they already saw my stuff in a favorable light, so you bet I applied.

    That was back in March, I think. I really should be better about keeping track of such things, but it was relatively early in the year anyway. The notice on the library website said authors who were accepted would be notified late July. And by golly, on July 23rd I got a nice email from Kelly at the library to let me know I was now an official Arizona Author.

    Very cool.

    A few days after that I noticed that they had acquired the ebook editions of my books and, believe it or not, those were already checked out! Not only that, but there were a couple of holds on the ebook edition of my latest, "devil Went Down to Phoenix."

    Very, very cool.

    A couple of weeks later I looked again and all three were still checked out and there were now three holds on "devil." Take that, James Patterson!*

    After the giddiness at being selected subsided I now had to confront the fact of Certain Obligations attached to being an Official AZ Author. Firstly, Kelly requested a photo, a bit of biographical info, and book cover art. The author photo I have on the backs of all my books is about, oh, let's just say several years old. I know it's not unusual for authors to use a nice pic from a decade or three ago, but I figured now was as good a time as any to get an honest to goodness recent photo out there. For one thing, it only seems fair that any Book Fair attendees not be taken completely by surprise when they stroll up to my table and compare photo on website to stark reality. As you can see, the decades have done their work between then and now, but that's okay. The young guy didn't have a nifty linen cap.

    Photo and bio stuff done, the much bigger task of preparing for the November book fair remained. I haven't been out and about in public pushing my books for way too long. I had no promo material, next to no inventory, and my welcoming spiel/elevator pitch hasn't been exercised in a long, long time.

    A modest supply of books arrived the other day and shortly afterward I ordered a table runner/drapey thing emblazoned with my name and the catchy Voltaire quote** that can be found at the front of "Boomerang" to hang over the front of my assigned table. I even sprang for a Full Color 16"x20" tabletop foam core poster.

    My wife and I then began creating a series of Like No Other (c)  bookmarks that I can use as giveaways. Every single one is unique. Here is a sample from one of the batches. Each batch makes just six bookmarks.

    The next step is figuring out the whole How To Take Payment Stuff. Can't just show up with a pouch of small bills and rely on potential Dear Readers having a roll of hard currency, today one must be ready to accept touchless payments and such. I think I have everything squared away with Square, but a test run on the app will certainly be in order before the big day.

    If you're in downtown Phoenix by the Burton Barr Main Library this November 8, stop by and find a few genuine Arizona reads. I hope to have my elevator pitch down by then.

*Full disclosure: As of this writing, all titles are now available, with just the Cholla branch paperback copy of "The Baer Boys" being checked out. 

**Doubt is not a very agreeable state

But certainty is a ridiculous one.

-Voltaire